Palaces

The Great Palace was begun by Constantine and remained in use until 1204 and for a short period after 1261 (Ebersoh 1910; Brett 1947; Guilland 1969, vol. 1:1-248; Talbot Rice 1933 and 1958; Magdalino 1996; Bardill 1999b; see also III.9.1. Emperor and court). The early complex included various buildings, some public, some private, such as guardrooms, halls, dining-rooms, chapels, and games areas, which extended to the south and east of the hippodrome. The main entrance, known as Chalke, led from the Mese south-east of Hagia Sophia (Mango 1959). Justinian rebuilt the Chalke after it was destroyed in the Nika riot in 532, and a partially surviving vast mosaic floor was also the work of Justinian (Jobst and others 1999). The Magnaura was a ceremonial hall adorned with Solomon’s throne in the central apse and might, according to Mango, have formerly been the Senate House (Mango 1959: 57-8). Justin II erected the Chrysotriklinos or Golden Hall, used as a throne room. Various buildings were added or restored between the seventh and ninth centuries, including the refurbishment of the Magnaura by Herakleios, and new residences, the Kainourgion and the Pentakoubouklon, a church, the Nea Ekklesia, chapels, and the polo ground completed by Basil I. Building was further undertaken by Manuel I, who constructed a hall decorated with scenes of his victories (Magdalino 1978: 101-14). The palace gradually fell into disuse and disrepair. A sea-facing facade, part of the palace of Boukoleon, still stands (Guilland 1969, vol. 1: 262-72) as does a wall running north from the sea wall on the site of the lighthouse tower.

The Palace of Hormisdas was built at the time of Constantine the Great, lived in and restored by Justinian before he came to power, and annexed to the Great Palace by him. The palace was converted into a monastery prior to 565 (Guilland 1969, vol. 2: 294-333).

The Palace at Blachernai, situated near the site of the sacred spring, close to the city wall, became the principal residence from the time of Alexios I (1081-1118), although an imperial house had been there since the fifth century, associated with the shrine to the Virgin (Janin 1964:125-7). Its precise location is not now known.

The remains of a palace situated nearby, between the inner and outer land walls, known as Tekfur Sarayi (Palace of the Sovereign), are Palaiologan. There was a columned lower storey and two upper floors, and much of the brickwork is patterned.

A secondary palace was established at Mangana on the east face of the Acropolis hill; the monastery of St George, a hospital, law school, and palace were built there by Constantine IX (Psellos, Chronographia (ed. Impellizzeri), vol. 2:132, §185.3), and its remains have been located (Demangel and Mamboury 1939:19-37; Oikonomides 1980-1). Constantine IX developed the monastery further and was buried there in 1055. The relics of Christ’s Passion were kept there in the fourteenth century.

Many further imperial palaces are known to have existed (Janin 1964: 106-53). Similarly, there were many built for the aristocracy, of which some remains are extant (Bardill 1997).